stockpiling/preparations

[donnap99]

US folks (and Canadians?) -- What do you make of the news/warnings yesterday that we should stock up on water and non-perishables, etc.?  I've been trying to not be nervous and just go about my normal life ever since 9-11, but this is getting to me now.  For probably the first time, I'm actually wondering "What if it's me?"


DonnaP99

[blufire21]

Interesting question.  Personally, I am not trying to get worried about it.  The way I see it, if I'm not actually hit, then the gov. should provide what I will need.  As for water, you don't need to stock up on it.  If there is a disaster, run a bath.  Drop 1/8 cup bleach into the tub.  Let sit 24 hours.  The bleach will kill any bacteria in the water, and by letting it sit for a day, all the sediment will sink to the bottom.  Scary what you can learn in Maxim magazine

Ellen in TX

[sueg22]

Donna,

Hi - I'm in the NY area and we've been on high alert since 9/11/01.  I have just about everything on the list (medicines, water, food, flashlight, matches, plastic bags, extra clothes, etc.) and haven't been letting my car go below 3/4 of a tank since then.  

I think when the horrific attacks committed by those monsters on 9/11 took place, people began to get prepared, but then some of them relaxed.  We can't allow ourselves to relax.  I have friends who "had" great emergency supplies, but it was too much trouble to keep everything up to date.

I have my "regular" emergency supplies at home - just ordered a new AM/FM Shortwave radio with a crank, so I won't need to worry about batteries for that, plus I have a smaller supply kit at work and in my car.  

The thing is, you probably won't need any of this stuff, but just like you'd prepare if it were hurricane/tornado season, you should be prepared now.  

And then support our troops while you pray for peace . . . that's all we can do.  

[chris68]

Or do what my MIL does at all times in case of power failure in her house, she keeps jugs of water all the time with small portions of bleach in it.  It will keep for a long time that way.  She has some everywhere in the basement, kitchen, bathroom.  Usually in an empty bleach bottle.  It's just something that she's always done.  Probably not a bad practice to have one in the house in case of power outtage if nothing else.  

I'm not too worried about stock piling of goods as I do that anyway.  I just don't have the water stockpiled or even the plastic that they mentioned you should have.  It's just a warning that they are giving you since they got caught off guard with 9-11 they (the government) is trying hard to keep everyone warned (not scared) about what's going on and what should be done to be prepared.

Just my .02 cents.



Chris68
Peer Moderator

[msmarieh]

I have been doing disaster services for over 10 years for the American Red Cross. I have seen a lot of disasters including tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, fires, and hazmat spills. It doesn't have to be a terrorist event to be devastating to your family. There are simple steps you can take to be prepared for a disaster.

The Red Cross has an excellent set of guidelines for preparing for terrorism. You should note that their recommendations apply for almost ANY disaster!

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/unexpected.html

In addition, they have an excellent section devoted to disaster planning, where you can get advice on being prepared with children, pets, seniors, etc. http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/

Finallly, here are recommendations for a Family Disaster Plan, including supplies you should have on hand in advance (as well as phone numbers and more). Taking the time to put this material together will make you feel more secure and will increase your chances of surviving anything! More importantly, these materials will help you get back on your feet more quickly if something were to happen.

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/familyplan.html

I know that disaster can happen at any time and while I believe that help will be on hand, I also know that the first responders can be overwhelmed during an emergency of a large scale. It may take 24-48 hours for efforts to be well-organized (despite the intensive training that FD, FEMA and ARC personnel receive).

One of the most proactive steps you can take is to consider volunteering as a Disaster Services responder and get the training you need to be a part of the solution, instead of a part of the problem, if something were to happen. This takes a special kind of person though, and not everyone is cut out for it.

For myself, I refuse to live my life in fear. I go about my business and take reasonable precautions, but don't allow myself to become paranoid. Sometimes that is easier said than done.  After every fire, I go home and make sure our insurance bill was paid that month!!!

Marie

[ozbound]

I'm not too nervous--I mean, in the first place, if they know about a potential terrorist attack, they probably can do something to prevent or mitigate it, right? And maybe the terrorists won't want to strike if they think we "know" something's going on.

Other than that I don't think there's much we can do except be prepared as you're always supposed to be for ANY type of disaster (i.e., flashlights, first aid, extra food supplies, clean water and an emergnecy plan) The papers are saying that all the extra stockpiling, etc. people are doing now probably isn't going to do much good. It really reminds me of the old "duck-and-cover" and the bomb shelter's of the '50s and '60s. Those seem kinda silly to us now, and all this stuff'll probably seem silly in another 30 years or so!

[bethanial]

I don't understand the plastic sheeting bit for sealing off the house.  Most houses I know "breathe" enough that just covering the doors and windows with plastic and duct tape wouldn't do any good.

Peer Moderator

[donnap99]

Something in what you said made me remember another time - remember all the problems we *might* have had with Y2K?

DonnaP99

[sueg22]

You are right about the fact that just sealing off the windows and doors won't do it -- if we do need to seal a room in our homes, you need to sure to cover any opening in the ceiling (light fixture, ceiling fan) as well as light switches, outlet covers and radiators (assuming of course that you've already turned off all ventilation into the house).  I think I read that 10sq ft will then have enough oxygen for 5 hours which would be long enough for the air to clear in case of certain types of attacks.

Obviously, if there's an attack with a dirty bomb the plastic does you no good.  You need to get either into your basement or to a fallout shelter.

I suppose I'm taking this seriously because I realize that we smelled the smoke from the WTC for weeks afterward (I'm about 40 miles away) and if the smoke particles are carried that far, an attack on Manhattan would affect those of us on Long Island (aside from the fact that we'd be trapped with no way off the Island).  Every single thing that comes to us comes through the boroughs of New York.  We'd be without food/water/oil until they could get out to us.  They can only bring so much stuff over on a ferry from Connecticut.

Anyway, like Mom always says, "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."  

[bethanial]

Our local news last night ran a story on "what exactly to do with that plastic and duct tape."  The plastic is to be pre-cut and labeled with where it goes. (Door, floor vent, air vent, etc).  Put the biggest pieces up first.  You're only supposed to seal off one room, and not the whole house, although you are supposed to be sure all doors/windows are closed, and the heat/a/c is off.  Then go to an interior windowless room (ie, a bathroom).  Procede to seal off doors, vents, cover outlets with duct tape, ditto faucets/pipes.  Stay for 2-3 hours, by that time, if it's a chemical hazard, the cloud should have passed.

I'm still not buying plastic sheeting . . .

Peer Moderator

[diamondlady]

The only thing I agreed to buying was bottled water.  I got a couple of jugs of it just in case.  Even if we get a nasty storm I want to be ready for anything.  Not just for stockpiling purposes but just in case of any storms that might come our way it's good to be prepared.  Most of the other stuff I've seen just makes good sense, especially if you live in areas that have winter weather as I do.  Flashlights, extra sleeping bags on hand, keeping more than 1/2 tank of gas in your car.  Otherwise I don't agree with the other stuff.  No way am I buying plastic sheeting, they obvioulsy haven't seen all the windows in my house, it wouldn't make much difference anyway.  Didn't I see somewhere were someone did this to their entire house?  Now that's a bit extreme dontcha think?  Wait til Spring when they will want to open a window!  Now that's living in fear, NO WAY!

[countrigal]

The thing with the plastic... if you are going to do this, definitly pick an interior room, but be sure to put tape and/or plastic around cabinets and such. Older homes are notorious for having seams and leaks from around bathroom cabinets, the baseboards, the shower/tub, etc.  And sheetrock, even mud and taped, can come apart from the ceiling and floor leaving air flows.  When we lived in LR, we had our house checked for air leaks and the areas that the guys ended up caulking surprised me.  Our walls literally breathed, allowing so much air in and out through seams in the paneling and hairline cracks where the walls met the ceiling and floor.

As for preparation - definitely be prepared for an emergency.  Does that mean panic regarding another terrorist attack?  No.  But like others said, a little advance prep can help you be prepared for anything be it blizzard, power outage, ice storms, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, etc.  Most importantly, be aware of what is going on around you - in your town, state, country and the world.  Knowledge is powerful and can help keep the panic at bay.

CountriGal
Peer Moderator